SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. - A home game against USC, road games at Cal, Pepperdine and BYU, and appearances in two tournaments highlight defending Big West Conference Champion UC Santa Barbara's 2002-03 men's basketball schedule.

The Gauchos will open the 2002-03 season at The BP Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska. UCSB's first opponent in the eight team tournament is Yale on Thursday, November 21. After a day off, the Gauchos will play either Nebraska or Alaska-Fairbanks in the second round. The opposite side of the bracket includes Illinois, New Mexico State, Wisconsin-Green Bay and Weber State.

UCSB will also play in the ASU/azcentral.com Hoops Classic in Tempe, Arizona on December 27 and 28. The Gauchos will take on Nebraska in the first round and then they will play either Arizona State or Bucknell in the second round.

In addition to the two tournaments, Santa Barbara will play games against Western powers USC, Cal, Pepperdine and BYU. The Gauchos will host USC on December 3. They will travel to Pepperdine on December 7, to Cal on December 10 and to BYU on December 21.

On February 22, the Gauchos will take part in ESPN's Bracket Busters, a series of ten match-ups between mid-major programs in competition for postseason tournament berths. UCSB will host an opponent to be determined in late January. UCSB will host its only other non-conference regular season home opponent, USF, on November 30. The Gauchos will play cross-town opponent Westmont College in a game tentatively scheduled for November 27, but unlike past years, the game will be an exhibition and will not count on UCSB's won-loss record.

Santa Barbara will open the Big West campaign on January 2 when it hosts UC Riverside at the Thunderdome. In key league contests, the Gauchos will travel to Utah State on January 11, in a rematch of the 2002 Big West Tournament championship game, and then host the Aggies on February 6. In addition, they will play at UC Irvine on January 30 and host the Anteaters on March 1. UCSB will renew league rivalries with Long Beach State (on the road on February 1 and at home on February 27), Cal Poly (at home on January 25 and on the road on February 20) and Pacific (at home January 18 and on the road February 13).

"This is an outstanding schedule," assessed head coach Bob Williams. "While it's a very difficult non-conference schedule, I think it will really help us to prepare for the league season and the league tournament. I also think its important for teams in the Big West to upgrade our schedules and our schedule for next year really does that."